Keane Misses Out as O'Neill Looks to Experiment

24 March 2016

Robbie Keane and Anthony Pilkington are the latest players to have been ruled out of the Republic of Ireland squad to face Switzerland in Friday's Euro 2016 warm-up friendly.

The pair join Jeff Hendick and Jonathan Walters on the injured list although manager Martin O'Neill has confirmed that one of the objectives of this series of games is to blood new players in preparation for the summer's championship.

Keane hasn't trained since joining up with the squad due to a 'bang on the knee' which hasn't healed as expected. Anthony Pilkington's injury relates to an ongoing problem with the Cardiff player's knee.

"I want to experiment with a few players," said O'Neill. "I also want to be competitive and I'd also like to keep that momentum going because we don't have that many games left to the start of the Euros."

The swiss are 12th in the current FIFA world rankings and O'Neill has said he will look to name a strong starting side against a team ranked 17 places above his.

A number of less experienced players are expected to get their opportunity later in the game but one of them won't be Jack Byrne. The 19 year old will play in Ireland's U21 Euro qualifier in Waterford tonight which O'Neill is expected to attend.

"Don't be so cocky," were the manager's words of advice for the youngster.

O'Neill maintains that the opportunity for players who want to force themselves into his thinking for Euro 2016 is there, but they'll need to make a big impression in short space of time.